Mixed Doubles
by Falling Angels
Summary: Tezuka Kunimitsu never thought he would be much good at doubles. TezukaOC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: My first attempt at a Prince of Tennis fanfiction. I would appreciate any form of advice you have on my story, even criticism as long as it is not unreasonable. My story does not follow the prince of Tennis timeline, and there might be a few mistakes in my data here and there, so feel free to correct me! Reviews reviews I beg of you!

Oh yes, and I do not own Prince of Tennis.

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"My god, Shizuka." A hand entered the said person's line of vision and flapped around in it. "You are going to blow us all up if you continue daydreaming this much."

Masahashi Shizuka turned to look at her partner blankly, her expression clear evidence that not a word of the instructions for their chemistry experiment had registered in her mind. "What?" She floundered about, struggling to bring herself up to date with her lesson.

"Light the burner." Her friend, Kimiko, whispered to her. Then, as their teacher started her patrol around the class to make sure everyone was working, she poked Shizuka and hissed "_light it!_" more urgently.

"Alright, alright." Shizuka hurriedly lighted the burner before her friend went into hysterics, resorting to taking instructions from her for the rest of the lesson.

"What were you thinking about?" Kimiko questioned the moment they got out of the classroom for lunch. "Do you know you could have ruined our grade for this assignment? WE COULD HAVE FAILED!"

"Which is why I have you." Shizuka grinned at Kimiko. "I was thinking of tennis later."

It was a well-known and much disputed fact that third-year Masahashi Shizuka, a scatter-brained, supremely absent-minded person endowed with a vivid imagination, was also Captain of Seigaku's Girl's Tennis Club. Kimiko sighed. "You and your tennis. Is that all you ever think about all day?"

"Of course no- OUCH!" Shizuka glared at the girl who had just barged past her into the cafeteria, which was packed full of people, as usual. "What's her problem? Can't she look where she's going?"

Kimiko sighed and jerked her head in the direction of a large and still-growing group of squealing girls clustered around a table in the centre of the cafeteria.

"Oh." Shizuka raised her eyebrows. "Figures."

The regulars of the renowned Seigaku's Boy's Tennis club were seated at the table, surrounded by piles of bento boxes from their fangirls. From what Shizuka could see, the biggest piles were in front of Fuji Syusuke, his gentle manner and almost feminine movements, as well as his drop-dead gorgeous looks attracting a swarm of girls, and Tezuka Kunimitsu, Captain of the club, stoic and silent but who held enough power to put any member in place in an instant.

Shizuka herself had a soft spot for the freshman prodigy, Echizen Ryoma, who was currently being tortured by Momoshiro pinching his cheeks. Ryoma was just too adorable.

"Fuji-kun..." Shizuka was disrupted out of her train of thought and turned to find Kimiko starry-eyed gazing at her idol. Shaking her head, she grabbed her friend and dragged her to find a seat for themselves away from all the hustle of the girls lusting after the most desired bachelors in Seigaku.

Too much hormonal activity, Shizuka decided.

Just as she had gotten Kimiko sober enough (Fuji was a drug) to get her food and sit down at their table to eat, a younger girl who she recognized from the tennis club approached them.

"M-Masahashi senpai," the girl gulped nervously. Shizuka smiled at her, identifying her as Ryuuzaki-sensei's granddaughter, Ryuuzaki Sakuno. "M-my grand... I mean Ryuuzaki-sensei would like to see you in her office after lunch, just before tennis starts." She told Shizuka.

"Sure. Thank you for telling me." Shizuka patted the younger girl's head lightly. Blushing, Sakuno hurried off, and was out of sight in a few seconds. Wondering what Ryuuzaki sensei could want to see her about- and sincerely hoping it was not because she had misplaced the name register yet again-Shizuka contented herself with eating her lunch for the time being.

----------

Sakuno was still blushing as she was jostled about, trying to find a way to the regulars's table without getting trampled. Finally, squeezing between two girls and dodging a bento box, she found herself right behind Tezuka, who was the other person she was supposed to deliver her grandmother's message to. Trying to pluck up the courage to talk to the intimidating Captain and failing miserably, she gave up, instead sidling over to where Ryoma was seated, having just been released from Momoshiro's headlock.

"Ryo-Ryoma-kun." She shyly alerted him to her presence.

"Eh?" He turned around and cocked his head at her, causing her to start blushing once again. Beside him, Eiji was animatedly chatting away with Oishi while Momoshiro and Kaidoh sent each other death-glares. Kawamura was happily eating some sushi and Inui seemed to be recording the number of bento boxes in front of Tezuka.

"I-It's just that... I-I have a message from my grandmother for Tezuka-san." She stuttered at Ryoma.

"Oh. Tell him, then." Ryoma leant back in his seat and, before Sakuno could stop him, he had yelled "Buchou! Message for you."

Tezuka turned towards them, as Sakuno fretted in dismay. "What is it?" He asked her.

"M-M-My g-grandmother wanted m-me to tell you to m-meet her in the office just before tennis practice starts." Sakuno was sure she was beet-red now. The situation only worsened when Momoshiro waved good naturedly at her.

Tezuka nodded once to show that he understood. Sakuno quickly bowed slightly at him and ran off, glad to be out of his scrutinizing gaze. The next thing she knew, she was being dragged back to the table by Tomo-chan who had appeared out of nowhere with a pile of handkerchiefs with the words 'I love Ryoma-sama' on them. Sighing, she conceded to her fate, before suddenly recalling something.

"Oh no! I forgot to Tezuka-san that Masahashi-senpai was going to be there!"

Tomo-chan rolled her eyes as she continued dragging Sakuno along with her. "Stop worrying, silly! He'll find out!"

Then Sakuno groaned again. "And vice-versa!"

-----------------

Tezuka was having some difficulty ignoring the screaming masses of girls beside the table. He had wanted nothing more than to escape into the tennis courts, but Fuji had convinced him and the rest to have lunch "as a team", as it would "strengthen their bonds."

Thinking back, he berated himself for listening to the Tensai.

Tezuka was not a very sociable person and usually had his lunch at the tennis courts, thereby avoiding the throng of 'fangirls' as they proudly called themselves. This was one of the few times he had been mobbed by them. Fuji's wide smile on his right did nothing to soothe his nerves. He was also not impressed by Kikumaru's cartwheeling across the table to save time walking around it.

He pondered about the message that had just been relayed to him. What could Ryuuzaki-sensei want from him? A report on the team's progress? Possible. He could not think of much that she would want to talk to him about. Some new people wanting to tryout, maybe.

Pushing the thoughts aside, he listened to the idle chatter among his teammates. When there were fifteen minutes left for lunch, he politely got up and excused himself, trusting them not to be late for tennis.

Tezuka managed to navigate around all the people crowded around their table, and was mildly surprised when his tray was snatched away by a girl who insisted that she would put it away for him. Not giving her a second glance, he walked out of the cafeteria, sighing in relief when he reached the quieter corridor leading out to the tennis courts.

He walked quickly, knocking on the door to Ryuuzaki-sensei's door before entering, He saw the coach, in her customary pink outfit with her hair tied up, sitting at her desk, regarding some documents she had spread out in front of her. Looking up, she gave him a small smile, greeting him with "Tezuka."

"Ryuuzaki-sensei." Tezuka nodded back in return. He waited expectantly for her to speak, but she merely gestured towards one of two vacant chairs in front of her desk. Sitting down, he looked up at her again, but she had gone back to reading her documents.

"Ryuuzaki-sensei?" He questioned. "Did you not ask to see me?"

"Yes, yes, of course." She cheerily replied. "We are just waiting for Masahashi to get here. I do hope she won't be late. "

Tezuka raised his eyebrows. "Masahashi-san?" He asked, wondering why the Captain for the Girl's Tennis Club had been summoned as well.

"Didn't she tell you?" Ryuuzaki-sensei asked him.

"She?" Tezuka was getting even more confused.

"Sakuno. I told her to tell both of you to come." She sighed. "Judging by your expression though, I guess she didn't."

"Aa."

They both sat in silence, Ryuuzaki-sensei going back to her reading and Tezuka watching the seconds tick by on the clock, wondering if he would be in time for tennis. Lost in thought, he almost jumped when a knock sounded on the office door.

Shizuka entered, greeting Ryuuzaki-sensei, before her eyes fell on Tezuka.

'Oh. My. God. Why. Is. He. Here' Shizuka had to remember to breathe in. It wasn't that she had a _crush _on him or anything, she wasn't one of those stupid fangirls who screamed their heads off and wrote notes like "YOU'RE SO HAWWWT!" with spelling errors in them. It was just that he had quite an intimidating presence.

"I apologize for interrupting. I will wait outside." She gathered her thoughts enough to say, starting to back out.

"No, Masahashi." Ryuuzaki-sensei's voice stopped her short. "I wanted to see both you _and _Tezuka. Now sit down." She pointed towards the other empty chair beside Tezuka, who had an unfathomable expression in his eyes as he looked at her.

'Uh-oh. Both me and him?' Shizuka thought. 'Ah whatever.' She walked over and seated herself. Ryuuzaki-sensei gathered the documents on her table, arranging them neatly on one side. Regarding both of them across the desk, she made her announcement.

"I have decided that Seigaku's Girl's and Boy's Tennis clubs will have a joint collaboration for a month. It is time you people learnt how to play mixed doubles."

A/N: Hehehe how will it work out? Review and you will find out!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed! This is the second chapter. Enjoy and REVIEW!!! Please continue to feel free to correct me on any kind of mistake I make :D

Special Thanks to my beta, gold.paperclips

'...' are thoughts.

"..." are spoken words.

----------------

'Wait, wait,' It took all of Shizuka's willpower to not let her jaw drop. 'WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY??!!' Sneaking a look at Tezuka, she saw that the stoic Captain was, well, stoic as usual, his expression not betraying any of his thoughts.

"Ryuuzaki-sensei, are you joking?" She asked desperately.

"Of course not." Ryuuzaki-sensei looked puzzled. "Why would I be?"

"Because... Because the Regulars," here she nodded slightly at Tezuka, who inclined his head in return. "Well, the Regulars in the Boy's Tennis Club are so much better than the Girl's. I'm afraid it will just be a burden to the guys if we play with them."

"That is precisely the reason why I arranged this. It will be a fine opportunity for the Girls to improve their skills, aided by their partners from the Boy's Tennis Club." Ryuuzaki-sensei insisted.

'WHAT?!' Shizuka almost shrieked out loud. 'Doesn't she realize the girls will probably spend the whole game ogling?? I guess this is what happens when your hormonal growth has stopped.' She looked at Ryuuzaki-sensei and sighed.

"Well, are you both agreeable with this arrangement?" Ryuuzaki-sensei looked expectantly at both of them. Shizuka turned to Tezuka, hoping against hope that he would disagree.

"Of course." He told Ryuuzaki-sensei. "We could learn much from the collaboration."

Shizuka wished she could bang her head on the table. 'Like how much we suck.' Pushing the thought aside, she smiled lightly and accepted the collaboration as well.

"Excellent!" Ryuuzaki-sensei exclaimed, clapping her hands together and standing up. "Let's get started! Off to the tennis courts!"

"N-now?" Shizuka stuttered. "Right now?" Things were going _way_ too fast.

"Oh!" Ryuuzaki-sensei clapped a hand to her forehead. "I'm sorry. I forgot you might want some time to plan out something with Tezuka."

'Someone kill me.'

--------------------

Tezuka watched with slight amusement, as Shizuka had the grace to choke at that moment and proceeded to have a coughing fit.

"N-no! T-that's not wha-what I-" She was cut off by Ryuuzaki-sensei, who ignored her comment and gave them permission to use her office until they formulated a training schedule.

"I'll be at the tennis courts. Masahashi, get the girls over to the boy's courts after this." She instructed, before walking out and shutting the door behind her.

Tezuka, who had noticed Shizuka's expression change from nervousness to outright disbelief during the conversation, turned to find her fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

She looked up at him apologetically. "I'm really sorry. I have no idea what she's thinking." She glared at the closed door.

"Hn." He replied.

"We aren't as good at tennis as the boys are." Shizuka continued. "Seigaku is renowned for its _Boys' _Tennis Club, after all, not its Girls'."

Tezuka merely nodded, trying not to think of how everyone in both Tennis Clubs would react to the news of the collaboration. He was not looking forward to spending a month with a fanatically screaming girl.

"Well, since Ryuuzaki-sensei expects some sort of plan, I guess we had better come up with one." Shizuka sighed.

"Indeed." Tezuka agreed. "Shall we discuss the training schedule first?"

"Sure." She hesitated. "What is your usual schedule like?"

Tezuka told her.

------------------------

Shizuka had to stop her jaw dropping for the second time that afternoon. "Ok." She nodded, trying to come to terms with the amount of training the boys had.

"Ok…"

After a few seconds of silence, she inhaled deeply.

"No!" She burst out. "We only do _half _of that. The girls would faint or something if they had to do that amount of training."

Tezuka looked puzzled. "That is only our basic training."

'Are you guys machines?!' Shizuka gaped at him. "Surely you could make the schedule less tedious?"

"The team would lose its concentration." He said impassively.

"Concentration?" Shizuka thought for a moment. "Hey, that's true. The girls seem to be able to hold a full-fledged argument about irrelevant things while doing laps."

"Less training means more time for other things." Tezuka diverted his gaze to wall behind Shizuka.

"Other things?" Shizuka blinked innocently.

----------------------------

Tezuka tried sending her a meaningful glance, but it was lost on the Girls' Captain.

'Great. How do I say this?' He struggled to find words. "Other things that they should not be doing?" He tried.

"Should not be…" Shizuka mumbled to herself as Tezuka watched her awkwardly, hoping she would get his meaning.

"Slacking?" Shizuka guessed.

'No!' Tezuka tried again. "We are a Boys' Tennis Club."

"Yes, you are." Shizuka agreed. "And?"

Tezuka had to try very hard to maintain his composure and not roll his eyes. However, patience had always been one of his virtues, so he attempted to get his point across again. "You are a Girls' Tennis Club."

"What else could we be?" She started looking extremely confused.

"A collaboration means we…" Tezuka searched for any sign that Shizuka had gotten his point.

"OH!" She exclaimed. Clearing her throat, she nodded. "I see."

'Thank goodness.' He straightened his glasses. "The training schedule is alright, then?"

"If you put it that way, I guess it'll take their minds off flirting. But I still think we have to make it a little less strenuous for the girls." Tezuka complied, and she smiled. "Now we have to sort out the pairings."

They spent the next ten minutes planning out the Regulars' pairs. Tezuka was extremely edgy on this subject. He did not really know any of the girls, but judging from Shizuka's statement on 'flirting', he could pretty much guess how they would act.

Finally, Shizuka announced that they were done. "Is it alright?" She handed the list to Tezuka. Did I miss out anyone?"

Tezuka scanned through the list. 'Fuji, Eiji, Oishi, Ryoma, Kawamura, Kaidoh, Momoshiro, Inui.' He looked up at Shizuka, who awaited his confirmation earnestly.

"I'm not here." Tezuka told her slowly. Looking through the Girls' list, he sighed. "You're not here either."

----------------------

'Shit. Shit.' Shizuka cursed herself as she went red. 'Oh freaking hell _how could I be so careless? I forgot about Tezuka!'_

"Sh-Shall I reallocate the pairings?"

"No."

'HUH?' She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Tezuka took a pen and wrote down their names neatly. "It's fine."

Shizuka made sure not to choke this time.

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Tezuka did not tell Shizuka that he had hastily paired the both of them up, because she was one of the few girls in Seigaku who could actually converse with him without a single "I think you are really good-looking/hot/cool". He wasn't sure he'd be as lucky with the rest of girls on the tennis team.

Besides, he did not want to have a partner who was going to be in the way all the time or tripping over her own feet. He'd heard that Shizuka was a decent player.

Glancing up, he saw that she wore a vacant expression, lost in her own thoughts.

Clearing his throat and standing up, he saw her snap out of her reverie and she hurriedly stood up too.

"Let's go." He stated simply.

She trailed a little way behind him, as they walked in silence to the tennis courts.

"I'll be right back." Shizuka told him, as she turned to make her way to the Girls' tennis courts to gather her teammates.

Nodding, he pushed the gate open and stepped into the courts, immediately breaking up an impending fight between Kaidoh and Momoshiro, while the other Regulars practiced some shots. Ryuuzaki-sensei sat at her bench, and motioned Tezuka over to join her.

"We will wait for Masahashi to get here before telling them about the collaboration." She said.

------------------------------

'I'm going to be partners with Tezuka.' Shizuka fretted. 'What am I going to do? He hardly ever talks. He's so good at tennis. I am going to look like such a clutz beside him!' She sighed. 'I should have just written my name down with Fuji or Oishi. _But I forgot._ I am going to _kill_ myself!' She thought murderously, as she accidentally walked straight into a pole.

Swearing under her breath all the way, she slammed the gate to the courts open and went in.

"Shizuka!" Her vice-captain, Izumi, greeted her. "We thought you weren't coming!"

"I was…delayed." Shizuka shrugged. Raising her voice, she addressed everyone present. "Hey everyone! Please get your things and go over to the boy's courts as quickly as possible!"

As expected, whispers broke out among the girls.

"Boy's courts?"

"…go over?"

Izumi jumped in to rescue Shizuka. "Come on! Let's not waste any time!" She looked at the Girls' Captain, who appeared a shade greener than usual.

"Wha-" She started to ask Shizuka, but the Captain shook her head.

"You'll see." Shizuka told her, smiling kindly at Sakuno, who looked utterly shocked as well, and helped her stuff her racket into her bag.

"Oh!" Shizuka gasped, turning to speak to everyone again. "And whatever you do, _please_ don't embarrass yourselves. That means no screaming, understand?!"

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Silence spread over the courts as the girls arrived. Tezuka folded his arms, Fuji coming to stand beside him.

"Tezuka," Oishi approached Tezuka as well. "What's going on?"

"Masahashi!" Ryuuzaki-sensei interrupted. "Come here!"

All the guys watched as the brown-haired, slim girl walked over to stand beside Ryuuzaki-sensei. The other girls put down their bags, chattering excitedly among themselves and stealing glances at the Regulars.

Once everyone had settled down a bit, Ryuuzaki-sensei started speaking. "I have decided that there is to be a month-long collaboration between the Girls' and Boys' Tennis Clubs."

"What?!" Eiji could be heard exclaiming. Fuji shut him up before he could start whining about how Tezuka could have told them beforehand.

"It is a great opportunity for you to learn from each other. Tezuka and Masahashi have come up with a training schedule as well as the pairs you will be in for mixed doubles."

Shizuka had to shoot a stern gaze at a number of her teammates so that they would not squeal at the news.

Ryuuzaki-sensei signaled at Tezuka and Shizuka to start their briefing.

"Let's begin!"

A/N: Hope you liked it! Stay tuned.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm sorry for the super late update everyone! I've just started a new school and it's CRAZY! I'll probably update less now because of the hectic schedule. I apologise! The next chapter! Enjoy!

Oh and to gold.paperclips : Sorry I didn't send you anything for so long! tears hair Are you still my beta? Please don't hate me for abandoning you :(

To: All the people who reviewed : I LOVE YOU GUYS!

--

Tezuka pulled the whiteboard Ryuuzaki-sensei always used forward, while Shizuka took a marker and started writing down the pairs she and Tezuka had sorted out.

"We have paired you based on your playing style and skills," Tezuka explained. "Thus, your strengths will compliment that of your partner's. Masahashi-san will tell you about the pairings." He signaled to Shizuka to continue.

Putting down the marker, Shizuka announced the eight pairs between the Girls' Regulars as well as the Boy's. "As you can see, I have written them down on the board. Please move to stand with your partner now."

There was silence for a few moments before the girls realized the guys had no idea who they were, and complied to move to stand beside their designated partner instead. Brief introductions were exchanged before Tezuka called for silence.

"Are there any objections to your partners?" He inquired, refraining from raising his eyebrows as he saw that Oishi and Eiji were slowly trying to edge away from the girls they had been paired with. Oishi's partner couldn't take her eyes off his face and Eiji's partner was practically clinging onto him. Just then, Shizuka cleared her throat loudly, causing both girls to snap out of their fantasizing. Turning to look at her, Tezuka saw she was glaring daggers at them.

Pushing aside traces of his amusement, he was about to continue with the training schedule when Momoshiro raised his hand.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Sorry, Buchou. It's just that Echizen doesn't have a partner." Momoshiro indicated Ryoma, standing beside him.

"N-" Ryoma protested, but it was too late.

Tezuka turned to Shizuka, who frowned and consulted her list. "Where's Yuriko?" She inquired, looking at Izumi, who was standing awkwardly beside Kaidoh, both of them looking in opposite directions.

"O-oh. Yuriko isn't here today." Izumi hurriedly replied. "I think she's sick."

"Ah." Shizuka deliberated for a moment. "Ryuuzaki-san." She called to Sakuno. "You'll be Echizen's partner for today."

"W-w-what?" Sakuno stuttered. "M-me?" Glancing at Ryoma, she saw he had his head cocked slightly in her direction and was looking at her. Blushing, she shyly nodded. "Of course."

Tezuka heard Ryuuzaki-sensei chuckle softly behind him, muttering "that girl…"

Ignoring her, Tezuka was about to continue when he was interrupted a second time, this time by Fuji. "Who is your partner, Tezuka? I don't see your name on the board." He asked, smirking slightly.

'I will hurt you…' Tezuka narrowed his eyes at the brown-haired prodigy. "I will be partnering Masahashi-san."

--

Shizuka fully expected the stir amongst the girls as some of them threw longing glances at Tezuka.

Fuji's smile widened. "I see." Inui scribbled something in his data book while Eiji wiggled his eyebrows at Tezuka. Ryoma had a wide-eyed expression on his face and Momoshiro seemed to be choking back silent laughter.

"Buchou's finally got himself a girl." He grinned.

'What. Did. He. Say??' Shizuka sneaked a peek at Tezuka and took two steps away from him at once. 'T-Tezuka…' She gulped at the murderous look on his face.

"That's enough." His said softly.

Immediately it was silent as everyone's smiles vanished. Shizuka jumped slightly when Tezuka swiveled around to address her, pushing his spectacles up such that they glinted in the sunlight. "Masahashi-san, could you please brief them on the training schedule?" He smiled slightly at her, and it took all her willpower not to start trembling.

Trying not to let her voice come out as a squeak, Shizuka cleared her throat. "Sure. Well, we have altered the training schedule such that it is suitable for both the girls and the boys. For today, we'll do ten laps around the courts first before we get into our pairs to practice service and test out the pairings. Those without partners will practice their forehands and backhands." She looked at Tezuka for affirmation that her information was correct.

Tezuka nodded at her. "If there are no questions, everybody get on court. We're running late."

'Wow.' Shizuka gaped at him as everyone started moving off. "He gets straight to the point.' Sneaking another glance at him, she saw that he had turned his attention to a group of girls giggling to each other and was regarding them with a slight frown.

'God damn it.'

--

Tezuka was extremely tempted to start barking orders at the girls, who were taking their time sauntering around the court squealing like... never mind. In particular, a group of girls gathered not too far away was beginning to annoy him.

"Sorry about them, Tezuka." Surprised, he looked at Shizuka, who indicated the same group of girls. They're always like that."

"Hn." Tezuka gave his standard reply, not really sure how to react.

He was spared the trouble when Shizuka strode over to the girls. Turning away, he quietly pushed the whiteboard back into place and walked over to join Oishi and Fuji.

"You are going to embarrass _all_ of us!"

The three of them turned at the same time to see Shizuka fuming at her team mates. One of them caught Tezuka's gaze and hurriedly shushed the Girls' Captain, who was turning red in the face

Fuji chuckled softly. "I wonder how this is going to turn out." He grinned at Tezuka.

"I'm sure it will be fine." Oishi smiled.

'I'm not so sure.' Tezuka inwardly cringed, picking up his water bottle.

"Oishi! Save me." They were interrupted by Eiji, who bounced over and latched onto Oishi's arm.

"What happened?" Oishi asked his friend, concerned.

"My partner hasn't let go of me since Masahashi-san told us to get into pairs." Eiji declared. "I just managed to get away."

Fuji patted his head lightly. "Don't worry."

Sighing, Tezuka took a sip of water.

Noting his reaction, Eiji pouted. "Tezuka, you are lucky you got Masahashi-san! She's cool and doesn't grab you or anything." He shuddered.

"Plus she's capable of keeping her eyes off your face." Oishi added.

"Exactly why Tezuka partnered her in the first place, right?" Fuji tilted his head slightly.

Tezuka almost spat his water out.

"No." He objected.

Truth was, that was exactly what he had been thinking.

--

Shizuka, meanwhile, was on the verge of screaming her head off at her team. 'THEY ARE MAKING US LOOK LIKE AIR-HEADED IDIOTS!!' "Put your belongings at the sides of the court and get ready for the laps. Now!" She glared at the group in front of her to emphasise her point.

Sighing, she turned around to see Eiji's partner walk past her. Following the girl's line of sight, Shizuka hastily grabbed her arm. "Yuka!" She hissed. Glancing back, she saw that Eiji seemed to be taking comfort in Oishi.

"What?" Startled, the girl turned to find her Captain's face inches away from her own.

"One, you are not to cling to Eiji like a lovesick person. Two, don't hunt him down like that." 'Good grief.'

"I didn-" Yuka protested.

"You did. And you know it." Shizuka stopped her from interrupting. "For goodness' sake don't scare him off…" She paused, having caught a glimpse of Tezuka with an extremely weird expression on his face. The next moment, Fuji, Oishi and Eiji had turned to look at her. Seeing that she was observing them as well, they immediately turned back.

"Wonder what that was about." She muttered to herself. "Come on, Yuka. Let's go."

After a few more minutes of posing death threats to her teammates should they even think about flirting, Shizuka had managed to get the girls in order.

--

The rest of the training went rather smoothly, under the Girls' and Boys' Captains supervision. Tezuka noted how the Girls' team was, as Shizuka had warned him, quite distracted. He thanked whatever gods he knew for not being the one who had to deal with them.

The guys, especially the regulars, seemed extremely relaxed with the new training schedule, and Tezuka sighed disapprovingly as Kaidoh and Momoshiro started one of their customary fights, much to the amusement and delight of their partners.

Stepping forward to stop them, he decided that extra trainings would be good for them.

"30 laps." He glared at the bickering pair, who stopped immediately.

"But Buchou…" Momoshiro protested. "HE was the one who deliberately hit that cursed ball at me."

Tezuka just fixed him with a stare.

"30 laps." He repeated.

They both quickly ran off, starting their bickering again.

He sighed.

"I wish I could do that." Looking up, he saw Shizuka approaching him, watching Momoshiro and Kaidoh as they started their sprinting around the courts.

"Aa." He was about to say something else when Inui interrupted them.

"Tezuka." He pushed his spectacles higher up on the bridge of his nose and held out a glass with a brownish liquid gurgling inside it. "I'll test it out on whoever finished second." He intoned, meaning the pair currently doing laps.

Shizuka looked curiously at the disgusting concoction. "What… Is that?"

"The new and improved Deluxe Special Gold Edition Inui Juice." Inui held the drink out to her. "Care to try?"

"Well…" Shizuka hesitated. Then, catching a warning look from Tezuka that said 'Don't even think about it', she shook her head. "I'll pass."

"Pity." Inui went off, muttering something to himself, as he awaited the arrival of the poor damned soul that would have to drink his creation.

"The only one who can drink that without causing himself bodily harm is Fuji." Tezuka told Shizuka, nodding at the drink Inui was cradling lovingly.

"Oh." Shizuka looked puzzled. "Is it _that_ bad?"

Tezuka inwardly shuddered to himself. "Yes."

Shizuka laughed, and then suddenly recalled what she had been doing. "Oh I forgot." She slapped her forehead. I was supposed to take the cones out."

"Cones?" Tezuka questioned.

"They have to practice their control of the ball." She indicated the tennis members, who were currently practicing their basic forehands and backhands. The regulars had already gotten into their pairs, taking two courts, and were playing against each other.

"I see." Tezuka nodded. He glanced back at the others, and then turned to her. "I'll go with you."

--

"I'll be right ba- HUH?" Shizuka stared at him. "I mean, no, it's alright. Really, there's no need for both of us to-"

"They're doing fine without us."

'HE'S COMING WITH ME??' She felt a light blush settle on her face, and quickly turned away to hide it. "W-well, let's go then."

Tezuka nodded, and they walked out of the courts, heading to the tennis storeroom to retrieve the cones.

Unknown to them, a certain brown-haired tensai had been observing them closely. Seeing them leave the courts, he quickly turned to the person next to him, who happened to be Eiji.

"Eiji." He grabbed the boy's elbow and bodily dragged him across the courts, ignoring their partners' disappointed gazes as they left.

"Nya! Fuji!" Eiji squirmed in his grip. "What are you doing!"

"Wait. You'll see." Fuji smiled at him.

Oishi raised an eyebrow at Eiji as he went past him. "Oishi!" Eiji quickly took hold of his partner and hauled him along.

"Wha-" He tried to free himself, but to no avail.

"Don't abandon me Oishi!" Eiji clung on to him. "Fuji is taking me somewhere!"

"Fuji?" Oishi looked at the tensai questioningly.

"Tezuka." He smiled widely.

"Buchou?" Eiji turned around to look at Fuji. "Why didn't you say so?"

Fuji just laughed. "He just left the courts with Shizuka."

"Ooh!" Eiji squealed excitedly. "Are we going to spy?"

"But Fuji…" Oishi looked worried. "A-are you sure-"

"Don't you want to know?" Fuji tilted his head at Oishi.

"Aah… Well…That's…" He scratched his head sheepishly, making Eiji and Fuji laugh at him.

"I heard someone say Tezuka's name?"

They all swiveled around to find Inui right behind them, scribbling in his data book.

"Inui! When did you get here?" Eiji exclaimed.

"That's not of importance." He told them.

"Where are Momoshiro and Kaidoh?" Fuji scanned through the members of the tennis team, not finding the two.

"They have both been rushed off to the infirmary." Inui informed them solemnly.

"Why?!" Oishi asked, startled.

"My Deluxe Special Gold Edition Inui Juice doesn't seem to agree with them."

"Ah, Inui." Eiji made a face. "That explains it."

The four of them reached the gate to the tennis courts and were about to open it when… "Senpai?"

"Ack!" They turned around to find Ryoma looking at them suspiciously.

"Ryoma! Just the guy." Eiji bounced over happily. "We're just going out for a while so can you…?"

"No." He put his racket down and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm coming too."

"Taka-san!" Fuji called. "Could you look after the training for a while?"

"A-alright." He looked uncomfortably at the girls beside him, practically drooling at the regulars now their Captain wasn't there to keep them in check. "But please come back quickly."

Fuji smiled. "Don't worry. If all goes well, we are going to be back _very _soon."

A/N: What are they going to do, I wonder :) Reivews, I beg of you?


End file.
